135 cardinals will elect the next pope. Francis picked 108 of them.
Pope Francis leaves after presiding over a constistory inside St. Peter's Basilica, October 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
As more than a billion Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, cardinals around the world are preparing to travel to Rome to begin the solemn tradition of choosing a new pontiff.
And when the prelates gather at the Vatican in the coming weeks to elect a new Bishop of Rome, Francis, who died at age 88 on April 21, stands to have an outsize impact on the vote.
That’s because, unlike some of his predecessors, Francis has appointed the overwhelming majority of clerics who can cast a ballot in the conclave—namely, members of the College of Cardinals who are under age 80. He crossed a crucial threshold in September 2023, when he finally appointed enough voting-eligible cardinals over the course of his papacy to constitute more than two-thirds of voting members in a conclave, the margin required to elect a pope under the current rules.
